


October 3rd

by Sekundi



Category: BanG Dream! Girl's Band Party! (Video Game)
Genre: Everyone goes to Haneoka because its easier, F/F, Fluff and Crack, Humor, Implied Sexual Content, Lots of dunking on characters, Mean girls Au, More just the messy bandori drama we've all been waiting for, Multi, Not a direct retelling of the movie, Tsugumi Hazawa vs Lisa Imai: The Fic, Tsugumi is homeschooled ofc, you read that right!
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-03
Updated: 2020-10-03
Packaged: 2021-03-08 01:27:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,717
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26797348
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sekundi/pseuds/Sekundi
Summary: Tsugumi Hazawa’s been homeschooled since she was a child, but when she starts attending Haneoka Girls School in her second year of highschool, her whole world is suddenly turned upside down. Caught between a group of delinquents calling themselves ‘Afterglow’, the most popular (and meanest) girls in the school, and her crushes on her serious senpais, Tsugumi finds herself at the centre of a long line of conflicts and relations she's never been a part of before.Just like every student, all she can do is try to survive.
Relationships: Hazawa Tsugumi/Hikawa Sayo/Minato Yukina, Imai Lisa/Minato Yukina (as very messy exes sort of), Minor or Background Relationship(s)
Comments: 9
Kudos: 16





	October 3rd

**Author's Note:**

> (As mentioned in tags, knowledge of the movie is really not necessary to read this!)
> 
> Backstory: Back in May, my friends and I all watched Mean Girls together over Discord. Being a bunch of Bandori nerds, we naturally assigned the bandori girls to the roles in the movie, which made it even funnier. Soon we were watching a TsuguLisa drama unfold on screen and all I could think was: 'what if I _actually_ wrote this?
> 
> So I did. As said above, this isn't a retelling of Mean Girls, just an AU based on it where I basically edited the bandori universe as much as I wanted. So don't worry about having actually watched the movie.
> 
> I also must say that this fic is really not meant to be taken seriously, nor are the assignments I gave to the characters. I do not actually believe Lisa is the personification of Regina George. I promise.
> 
> With that out of the way, I hope you enjoy!

For sixteen years of her life, Hazawa Coffee had been both Tsugumi’s home and her school. Being an only child, her parents had always expected her to simply take over the family business when she got older, and not have any other career prospects, but after a lot of begging Tsugumi had finally convinced them to let her attend mainstream schooling.  
  
Yet no matter how badly she had wanted it, nothing could have prepared her for the experience of standing in front of Haneoka’s gates for the first time. A sea of students in grey blazers just like hers washed around her, and Tsugumi was almost caught up in their current. It was actually quite terrifying. Everyone else knew what they were doing, had been going through this process for years, but Tsugumi was just Tsugumi and she would surely fail and it would be best to leave and simply go back home-  
  
Tsugumi shook herself. She wanted this! She had asked for this! Repeatedly! And now she was a second-year student, complete with blue tie and all. Things would be different from homeschool, but her dad said she had a big brain and would quickly adapt to her new environment.

So Tsugumi walked down the path and entered Haneoka for the first time ever…  
  
…and very, very quickly got lost.  
  
She was supposed to be in a classroom on the second year floor, she knew that much, but she had no idea where said floor was. Was it the second one? Probably, but there wasn’t even a staircase in sight. Tsugumi looked around for a friendly face to help her, but everyone was trying very hard not to make eye contact with her.  
  
Maybe this _had_ been a mistake. After all, if she couldn’t even find her classroom, how on earth was Tsugumi supposed to succeed at anything else? Some older student would probably swoop down and shove her into a locker and bully her relentlessly for the rest of the year like they did in movies and Tsugumi wouldn’t be able to do a thing because she WASN’T EVEN CAPABLE OF FINDING ONE CLASSROOM-

“Yo.”

Tsugumi felt her heartbeat spin out of control as she jumped and turned around to face the person who had just called out to her. Short hair not unlike Tsugumi’s but much messier framed her face, her blue tie was loose already, a hoodie was thrown over her shoulders instead of a blazer and there was something hanging out of her mouth Tsugumi was 80% sure was a cigarette.

A total delinquent. A ruffian! Oh no, this _had_ to be the bully. Tsugumi wasn’t irrational after all.

“H-Hello?” she said nervously. Perhaps if she was polite, she’d be spared. “I’m Tsugumi Hazawa, second year, new student. Nice to meet you!”

The student raised her eyebrows. “Giving out all your personal info just like that? That’s daaaangerous. And I know you’re a second year, that’s what the tie colours are for.”  
  
Tsugumi looked down at her attire. “Oh, um, sorry!”  
  
“Don’t apologise~” came the easy reply. “It was kinda cute. Anyways, you’re new?”  
  
Tsugumi nodded.  
  
“I could tell. It’s written all over you.” she laughed. “Perfect uniform, eager yet totally lost look on your face… that’s how all the new meat look. Three days here and that all changes, of course, so enjoy your enthusiasm while it lasts.”

Tsugumi was confused. “What do you mean?” she asked. “This is- a good school, right?”  
  
“Yeah,” the other girl replied, “but it’s still a _school.”_ _  
__  
_Tsugumi blinked, trying to reconcile the student’s words with everything she had previously known about Haneoka.

Then, a laugh. “Haha, the look on your face!” she said. “I’m just playing with you. School’s fine. I mean, me and my friends don’t bother with it, but you shouldn't worry~” 

Tsugumi was still a little scared, but most of her fears had been washed away by bafflement, which was a good thing, in a roundabout way. “Um. Who are you?” she asked.  
  
The student took the cigarette out of her mouth, revealing it to have been a lollipop all along, and stuck her (slightly sticky) hand out to Tsugumi.  
  
“I’m Moca,” she said, “That’s all you need to know.”  
  
It was at this precise moment that Tsugumi realised that all the other students had gone, and she and Moca were utterly alone. Had class already started? If it had, she- she probably needed to be there, surely?

Before Tsugumi could make further conversation, perhaps ask _where the second year classroom was please she really needed to know,_ the double doors she had entered through flew open. Three more students strode in, their auras just as encompassing as Moca’s.  
  
“OI! MOCA!” The one at the front with a red streak in her hair yelled. “Where were you? I thought we agreed to meet up in front of Hazawa Coffee?”  
  
Tsugumi almost fell over. Hazawa Coffee? That was- that was her family’s cafe! This group of ne’er do well-ers were planning to meet up in front of _her_ cafe? This was all terribly bad news. She should probably find a way to sneak away and look for the second-year classroom herself-  
  
“Hey, well, I did find a Hazawa. Brand new to the school.” Moca said, throwing her arm around Tsugumi’s neck and presenting her for the group to see. Tsugumi gulped as three suspicious eyes raked over every part of her. They all looked absolutely terrifying, especially the one at the back with flaming red hair, who had at least ten centimetres on her.

The leader, or so Tsugumi assumed, leaned forward a little. “Huh. You really are that one from the cafe.”  
  
“Y-Yes?” Tsugumi squeaked, even though she could never remember having a group like this in her cafe. Surely she would have remembered? Was she just losing her mind?  
  
“Heh.” she replied, folding her arms. “Only seen you a couple times, though. We’re mostly there when we’re bunking off, your parents are super chill about it.”  
  
If not for Moca’s grip Tsugumi would have fallen over. Her parents housed people like these? Helping future criminals while Tsugumi was upstairs learning her times tables?  
  
“Easy,” she continued, “we’re not gonna hurt you. I assume you already met Moca?”  
  
Tsugumi nodded.  
  
“Shitty start to your school experience, if you ask me.” the girl snorted. “But whatever. I’m Ran. This is Tomoe,” she indicated the girl at the back with the flaming hair, “and this is Himari. Together, we’re Afterglow.”  
  
Out of all of them, Himari looked the kindest. In fact, as she gave a friendly wave and a smile, Tsugumi could not fathom what she’d done to end up with people like Moca and Ran and Tomoe. But perhaps she was making assumptions. Perhaps these people had very good reasons for flouting school rules so openly and wasting all the opportunities they had been given-

“Basically, we’re all gay,” Ran explained further, “and we do what we want. Any questions? You’re not a homophobe, are you?”  
  
Certainly not, Tsugumi thought as she recalled all the late nights spent on YouTube watching various pretty women sing and dance and play instruments well into the small hours. But she wasn’t ready to show that as openly as Ran had.  
  
“Easy, Ran,” Tomoe said, clamping her hand, almost paw, down on Ran’s shoulder. “Don’t scare her.” Her surprisingly kind eyes found Tsugumi’s. “Anything you need? Are you lost?”  
  
“I’m not a homophobe!” Tsugumi blurted out.

Tomoe blinked, but then laughed. It boomed around the entire hall. “That’s good! But I mean, are you sure you’re gonna be okay?”  
  
“Oh, I was looking for the second year classroom, actually…”

“We can take you there,” Moca said, lightly punching Tsugumi’s arm. “Come on. It’s up on the roof.”  
  
Tsugumi paused. “The roof?”  
  
Himari rolled her eyes at Moca. “She’s being an idiot. The roof is, like, our secret hangout spot. But don’t tell anyone!”

“I… don’t think I will?” Tsugumi said. It was unlikely, given she knew exactly zero people at the school.  
  
“Well then we’ll go. Have fun in classes, nerd.” Ran said dismissively, Moca and Tomoe following her. 

Just as Tsugumi was about to protest, Himari whispered: “Second year staircase is just behind that row of lockers! Good luck!”

* * *

Tsugumi had thought her school day wouldn’t have gotten weirder after meeting the school’s resident delinquents. And for a while, things had been fairly uneventful. After apologising for coming to class late, she had excelled, having no trouble keeping up with the other students. No one really made an effort to be nice to her, but the opposite wasn’t true either.  
  
She made it to lunch with no more major happenings. The mysterious group called ‘Afterglow’ were nowhere to be seen. Tsugumi wondered if they were still on the roof, or cheerily drinking lattes from her father in her family’s cafe. She wanted to check, but she had the feeling that if Afterglow were still on the premises, none of them except Himari would be particularly keen on hanging out with her.

Armed with zero friends but one bento box lovingly prepared by her mother, Tsugumi found a quiet corner to sit down and eat her lunch in peace. It was an empty classroom, yet surprisingly full of posters and bright things strewn around and even a couple of computers. It was unlike any other classroom Tsugumi had experienced in her three hours of experience.

But just as she settled into her peace, two hurried footsteps came down the hall. 

On instinct, Tsugumi flung herself under a desk even though she wasn’t even doing anything wrong (as far as she knew). It was as if… she could simply tell something terrifying was on the way.

Barely two seconds after Tsugumi had stowed herself away, the doors flung open, banging against the wall in such a harsh way Tsugumi winced.  
  
“Lisa, don’t be so mean to the doors.”

“Ooh, are you gonna tell me what to do today? Bold, Yukina~”  
  
Tsugumi watched in fascination at the two people who had entered. One was a girl with thick brown curls running down her back, blazer thrown off as she looked alluringly at the other girl… who had a completely blank expression on her face.  
  
And was also very beautiful.  
  
Tsugumi didn’t know how, but the other student with her grey, maybe lavender hair and azure eyes and mismatched school socks (red and green, who wore red and green socks together?? At school??? Tsugumi loved it for some unknown reason) reminded her of the countless performers she’d fallen in love with over the years. She simply carried herself like a musician, even though all she was doing was climbing onto the table and moving closer to her counterpart.

“I don’t know what to say,” the girl, who Tsugumi supposed was called Yukina, said as she lifted the other girl’s chin.

Lisa (that was probably her name) rolled her eyes. “Just _something!_ And maybe if you put in enough effort it’ll actually be romantic. Or even sexy.”

Tsugumi stilled at those words. Up until that point she had been very unsure of what exactly the two girls were going to do in the previously empty classroom. She had had a few suspicions (her shoujo manga had taught her well) but having them actually confirmed as Yukina and Lisa moved closer together until their mouths were sort of brushing each other was surreal.  
  
And then Lisa pressed forward as Yukina’s hands moved to her hips, holding them tightly and earning a hum of contentment. Or probably something more. Tsugumi actually did not want to think about what that hum might also mean. Sure, she read about girls kissing all the time - imagined herself in those situations, even - but not like this! She didn’t want to be present for such an embarrassingly private moment. Especially not when she thought one of the girls was actually kind of hot! Because she had ‘musician vibes’?? Was that just Tsugumi’s type?

Tsugumi wanted to close her eyes but an unknown force kept them open as the sloppy noises she was overhearing confirmed tongues were definitely involved. Who was poking their tongue into whose mouth was unconfirmed but judging from how Lisa was almost lying across the table Yukina was probably taking the lead.  
  
Yukina leaned back a little, Lisa whining at the fact that Yukina had stopped kissing her for five seconds. But in a second Yukina was brushing closer again, expression utterly blank as she murmured: “Good girl.”

Lisa did not seem impressed. “Yukina, could you sound any less pleased to see me? Jeez! And you know that phrase only works in certain contexts.”  
  
Yukina curiously titled her head. “Like what?”  
  
Lisa sighed. “Like when your mouth is in a different place, for a start.”  
  
Yukina considered it for a few moments. “When I’m singing on stage?”

Before Lisa could give an exasperated and most certainly R-Rated reply, Tsugumi reached her limit. Unable to deal with witnessing any more of the terrible happenings, her body involuntarily smashed into the wall behind her.  
  
“Ahh!” 

_“AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!”_

  
“Lisa, I believe there is someone underneath the desk.”

“WHY THE _FUCK_ DO YOU THINK I’M SCREAMING?!”  
  
Tsugumi stilled in horror in her position, even as a part of her filled with relief at the fact she wouldn’t have to overhear the far too personal and unwanted details of what Yukina and Lisa got up to in their spare time. Even if she would surely be murdered by both of them right now.  
  
“You can come out. It’s fine.” Yukina’s voice said.  
  
Tsugumi highly doubted that, but she couldn’t hide under the desk forever. (Or in the closet, she thought internally, because her brain was forever wired to make gay jokes at every opportunity.) Regaining control of her limbs, she slowly stood up before the two girls, one of them glaring at her like she was the scum of the earth, the other looking quite placid in contrast.  
  
“Hello.”  
  
“WHY DID YOU LISTEN IN ON US MAKING OUT?” Lisa screamed.  
  
“I didn’t mean to!” Tsugumi squeaked. “I was just- I was just in here- I had nowhere else to eat-”  
  
“Everyone in the school knows this is my private place with Yukina!” Lisa snapped angrily.  
  
“I’m new, and I’m so so so so sorry I’m going to erase my memory!”  
  
“Actually, Lisa,” Yukina said, still surprisingly calm, “this is technically the student council room.”  
  
“Not important!” Lisa replied. “If you’re new I guess I’ll let you off. But someone should have already told you. The only thing the students at this school talk about is me!”  
  
“No one’s been talking to me, sorry.” Tsugumi said. “Except delinquents with very messy ties who hang out on the roof. I think.” This was entirely unnecessary information, but some part of her felt the desperate need to tell Lisa. Even just to stop herself from being murdered.

Lisa scrunched her eyebrows. “You mean those Afterglow idiots?”  
  
“Y-Yes?”  
  
“God, I’m so sorry.” Lisa said, her manner switching suddenly. “I mean- if they’re the only people you’ve talked to- then no wonder you ended up watching me and Yukina make out for fun.”  
  
Tsugumi wanted to protest that Afterglow hadn’t seemed all that bad, actually, but she was afraid that might put Lisa back on the path of murder. So she instead politely nodded and said: “Yes. That’s exactly it.”  
  
But in reality, her attention was taken by the girl absent-mindedly looking at the poster above Tsugumi’s shoulder. What was it Yukina had said during that- whole- ordeal? Just before Tsugumi had revealed herself?  
  
It came to her like a lightbulb. “Did you say you sing, um-” she looked at Yukina and Lisa’s brown ties and took a guess - “Yukina-senpai?”  
  
“Yes.” Yukina replied. “I’m a solo performer.”  
  
That explained it. Tsugumi had always been drawn to performers, to music. She’d never told her parents, but it was actually her dream to one day become a world-famous pianist. Currently they thought Tsugumi just tapped out songs she liked on her keyboard for fun, but late at night when Tsugumi couldn’t sleep she thought of world tours, sold out concerts, seeing everything there was to see. However, at the end of the day they were futile dreams - she had no siblings to take over the cafe in her place, and she had always known she’d end up there. And it wasn’t as if she disliked working there, but she was a teenage girl who spent most of her time at home with the Internet at her fingertips. She could watch all the glittery performances and songs and fancams of pretty women dancing she wanted. Which was also how she’d found out she liked girls. But that wasn’t exactly relevant.

Now, this hadn’t meant she had a _thing_ for performers, or maybe she did. Or maybe Yukina, and women in general, were just very pretty. But that wasn’t important, couldn’t be important, because Tsugumi had just witnessed Yukina make out with Lisa! There was no point in dwelling on Yukina’s looks when she was trying to survive possible doom.

Yet Lisa was smiling at her. “Hey, what was your name?”

“Um, Tsugumi?” she replied, remembering Moca’s comment and withholding the rest of the details.  
  
However, Lisa had clearly just been waiting for a prompt to keep talking. “I’m Lisa Imai. Queen bee of this school, not that it’s a contest or anything. And classes are starting soon, but after that…” Lisa moved away from Yukina and slung an arm around Tsugumi’s shoulders, “wanna sit with me and my girls tomorrow?”

* * *

Tsugumi didn’t know who ‘the girls’ were, or why she’d been invited to sit with them, but she was a very quick learner.

She avoided the roof for the second day in a row, but instead of finding a deserted classroom, she found herself being tugged along by Lisa to the biggest table in the whole lunch hall.

Only two girls had made their place there, but the minute Tsugumi saw them, she got the feeling their presence enveloped the whole anyway. Lisa gave them a cheery wave, and they waved back.  
  
“Ladies!” Lisa said excitedly, holding Tsugumi by the shoulders like she was an exhibit at a museum. It was a little thrilling to have the attention on her though. “This is Tsugumi! She’s gonna sit with us today. Touko, Aya, say hi to Tsugumi.”

“What’s up, my lad?”

“U-Um, hello!”  
  
Touko and Aya seemed like two very different people and yet both were equally massive to Tsugumi as she sat down opposite them, Lisa wedging herself in the centre. Touko had blonde, almost platinum hair, glittering brown eyes and twelve different colourful bracelets wrapped around her wrist. Her phone, the latest model inside a sparkly case, was out on the table like it wasn’t a big deal even though the school had a strict ‘on site, out of sight’ policy for them. She oozed confidence even as she shook Tsugumi’s hands with an almost crushing grip and kept using strange slang words Tsugumi had never heard before, and Lisa repeatedly hissed ‘would never be a trend.’  
  
Aya, on the other hand, practically quivered in her seat. She jumped every time someone addressed her, yet as Tsugumi quickly found out, she was the star of an up and coming idol band. She was on TV! Only once every few months, Aya said, but that was still more than most people. And she was kind to Tsugumi, even as she began to feel the other two girls were interrogating her.  
  
“So, you’re new?” Touko asked, even though she was still looking at Lisa more than her.  
  
“Yes. This is my first time at a mainstream school, actually.” 

“You mean you were homeschooled?” Lisa said in shock. “That’s cool, but also weird. What was it like?”  
  
“I mean… my parents just rotated days to teach me, and my grandparents helped out too. It was a bit boring really.” She was sure many other kids would have loved to be homeschooled, but over time, it lost its appeal for Tsugumi. And she had always felt a little guilty for taking her parents away from the cafe.

“Oh, cool. Did you-” Lisa began, but then Touko tapped her on the shoulder to show her something on her phone, and Lisa seemed much more interested in laughing at it than talking to Tsugumi. Tsugumi waited for Lisa to look away and finish her question, but Lisa had apparently forgotten.  
  
Before Tsugumi could wallow in self-pity, Aya surged forward. “So now you’re at a proper school, are there any clubs you wanna join? There’s a ton here!”  
  
Tsugumi had been given a flyer with all 54 clubs on, but only one had really caught her interest. “I was thinking of the student council?” She’d always liked taking on responsibilities, and also the classroom for it she had been caught in yesterday had been very nice. There was a reason she’d picked it, after all.  
  
Lisa looked her way with a frown. “The student council? That’s social suicide.”

“But isn’t Yukina the president of it? She’s doing quite well socially.” Aya pointed out.  
  
Lisa shrugged. “Whatever. I guess that’s true.”  
  
“Yukina… you mean the girl you were with yesterday?” Tsugumi asked.  
  
“Yeah. My girlfriend. She’s a bit of a nerd, but if you wanna join her, I guess that’s fine.” Lisa replied.  
  
Tsugumi couldn’t deny that Yukina being on the student council made the prospect of joining much more appealing. Maybe they’d even get to know each other better. In any case, she’d get to admire Yukina’s looks from a closer distance.

“Does Tsugumi-chan need your permission to join?” Aya asked again.  
  
Lisa whipped her head round to Aya. “Maybe she does! I am dating Yukina, after all. But you wouldn’t know anything about dating, would you?”  
  
Aya shrunk back into her seat, and Tsugumi tried to give her a small smile of thank you.

“Eh, whatever, if you wanna join the stuco you’re probably way smarter than any of us.” Touko said with a laugh. “And a couple of students might even respect ya!”

Lisa seemed annoyed by Touko’s interference, but she chose to not say anything. The rest of lunch passed in relatively awkward silence, Lisa much more interested in whatever was on Touko’s phone than either Tsugumi or Aya. But that was fine. Aya had a ton of stories to tell from her time with her band, mostly consisting of her bandmates committing mild crimes when their manager left them alone for more than five minutes.

Finally, the bell for the next lesson rang, and another new instinct in Tsugumi reared its head. “Oh no! I have to go,” Tsugumi said. “I can’t be late.”  
  
Touko laughed again. “Girl, you’re not gonna be late if you leave the moment the bell rings! Relax.”  
  
“Um, see you tomorrow, Tsugumi-chan!” Aya said.  
  
Tsugumi was slightly afraid she’d done something to upset Lisa and that she was secretly plotting Tsugumi’s murder for real this time, but as Tsugumi made to leave, Lisa looked up and gave her a wide smile. “So see you here, same time tomorrow?”  
  
All Tsugumi could do was nod.

* * *

Lisa had said it would be social suicide to join the student council, but very little people talked to Tsugumi anyway, and she still didn’t spend much time with Lisa outside of lunch. So by Thursday she was knocking on the door of the room she had first caught Lisa and Yukina making out in, being told that apparently someone would be in there this time.  
  
“Come in!” an unfamiliar voice called, and Tsugumi tentatively pushed the door open…

...and promptly almost fainted.  
  
Because sitting at the head of the large table she had shoved her tongue down Lisa’s throat on, calmly looking at a stack of papers with that same blank expression on her face, was none other than Yukina. Tsugumi had known she would be here, but she was still show-stopping.  
  
There was another girl too, her tie even straighter than Tsugumi’s and looking at her expectantly. Presumably she was the one who had told Tsugumi to come in. But Tsugumi was still recovering from a bout of intense shock.  
  
Then Yukina looked up and gave her her first smile.

It was nothing much, just a small tug of her lips probably just to acknowledge her presence, but it still made Tsugumi float for a brief seconds, until Yukina said Tsugumi’s name.  
  
“Tsugumi-san.”

Tsugumi promptly soared headfirst through the clouds. 

Yukina’s voice was… half-hot, half-cute? It could easily be mistaken as disinterested but the way she looked at Tsugumi was anything but. Even if she was just interrupting her schedule, at that moment, Tsugumi mattered to Yukina’s life.

Before Tsugumi had time to dwell on what a pathetic middle schooler she had become, Yukina continued a way that really did make Tsugumi almost faint. “Tsugumi-san, if you expect to see me make out with Lisa again today, I am afraid to inform you she is with ‘the girls’ today.”

“N-No! It’s alright!” Tsugumi said, trying not to choke on her own spit as unwelcome memories of that day flashed through her mind.

The other girl had turned to Yukina. “Imai-san was in here? I thought I told you not to bring her, Minato-san.”  
  
 _Minato._ Even her last name was perfect.  
  
Yukina bowed her head slightly. “I’m sorry. It won’t happen again.” Facing Tsugumi once more, she asked, “I assume you are not here for that purpose, then. How can we help you?”  
  
“I… wanted to join the student council, actually.” Tsugumi said, trying to seem confident, even though she was still hovering by the door like a lovesick puppy.  
  
The other girl breathed a sigh of relief. “Now that is news I’ve been wanting to hear. Ever since the last president resigned over the holidays, we’ve been a little short on numbers.”  
  
Tsugumi took a few cautious steps into the room, letting the door shut behind her. “They resigned… outside of school?”  
  
“Yes,” the girl said. “My sister, Hina. Handed me the resignation on a scrawled piece of paper when I was trying to get a decent night’s sleep. Said she wanted to focus on her boppin’ idol band instead of ‘this boring stuco nonsense’.” The girl looked deeply offended as she recounted the story. “Anyways, that’s Hina. I’m Sayo Hikawa, and I see you’ve met Minato-san already. We have two other members as of present, but I’m sure you’ll get an opportunity to know them better later.”  
  
Tsugumi nodded as Sayo continued, “Myself and Ichigaya-san take care of behaviour within the school, which is, for the record, atrocious. I won’t task you with helping do all that for now, it’s enough to drive one insane. No. You can do paperwork with Minato-san instead, as she’s the president she’ll be able to guide you through things.”  
  
Tsugumi’s throat suddenly felt very dry. She had been assigned to 1 on 1 time with the girl she had a mild quite big crush on by another girl who, similarly to Lisa, seemed very difficult to argue with. But Tsugumi didn’t want to argue. Spending time alone with Yukina thrilled her just as much as it terrified her.

“That’s fine!” she squeaked, an octave higher than usual. Sayo nodded and then checked her watch. 

“I’ve got to be off, my apologies. I heard there was going to be a fight around now between that girl with the red streak and another student.” Sayo said, giving a curt nod to Yukina, and then Tsugumi.  
  
Yukina returned it. “Tell Mitake-san I said hello.”

Sayo nodded yet _again_ (the two of them seemed to communicate in nods) and then left the room. Tsugumi watched her go before she turned around and faced the inevitable fact that she was well and truly alone with Yukina Minato.  
  
But all she got was another small smile and a “Well then, shall we get started?”

The rest of lunch passed by in a pleasant blur of Tsugumi trying to nudge her hand closer to Yukina’s as they romantically signed papers together.

Everything was perfect. That was, until Moca threw the door open and yelled:  
  
“Tsuguuuuu! We’ve been looking for you everywhere! Ran just won a fight, but whatever, we just heard the news with you, and you gotta come to the roof with us tomorrow!”

* * *

Tsugumi began to feel like a puppet controlled by multiple masters.

She started and ended all her weeks with Afterglow. Normally they discussed three topics: how terrible the world was, how great girls were, and how to totally sabotage Lisa and her crew. Tsugumi only actively participated in the last one. In fact, she was the centre of attention.  
  
It seemed Afterglow had forgotten about her for a little bit, until the word had reached them that she’d been gossiping with Lisa, Touko and Aya. There hadn’t actually been much gossiping involved, mostly just copious amounts of bewilderment, but it seemed that at school things always got lost in translation. As it turned out, Afterglow and ‘the girls’ had major personal conflict, and now Tsugumi was talking to said girls, Afterglow was very interested in her.  
  
“When we were in middle school Lisa took one poem I wrote out of context and showed it to the entire school and claimed I had a crush on that Minato witch! You know her? Student council?” Ran said angrily.  
  
Tsugumi objected to her most recent and passionate crush being called a witch, but she wasn’t really in a position to protest. “Yes. I’m on the student council actually.”

Ran wrinkled her nose. “Why would you do that, that’s literally social suicide. But whatever. It’s the worst thing that’s ever happened to me. As if I’d have a crush on that cryptid! But everyone believed it, including her. She ‘rejected’ me in front of the entire school, and she still sends me flowers from time to time with the rudest meanings ever. One time even black roses! That means she literally wants me dead!” Crossing her arms over her chest, Ran clearly wasn’t done yet. “But you know the worst part? Lisa literally had no reason to do it. We were different people, but we’ve never argued! She just does it cause she’s a terrible, shitty person!”

Tsugumi debated this in her head. Lisa had seemed quite nice, actually, but she _had_ been about to murder Tsugumi at one point. But she was justified in that, right? She was very distressed from Tsugumi walking in on a private moment. 

“She’s been… okay to me?” Tsugumi said tentatively.

Ran scoffed. “Of course she has. She’s nice to everyone, until she’s not. One day, Tsugumi, she’s gonna get you, and you have to be prepared for that. To strike back!”  
  
“Basically, what our dearest Ran is trying to say, is that we need you to overthrow Lisa~” Moca said, from their position stretched out like a starfish on the ground.  
  
“I mean, like, none of us can!” Himari said. “Once upon a time I was close to her, but then I picked Ran’s side during the whole middle school fiasco, and, you know.”

“We need someone to destroy her from the inside.” Ran said. “We were actually planning this since before she RUINED MY LIFE. She rules over the school, and it’s unacceptable. People here are terrified of her! She holds power over us! We need to take her down!”

Ran’s furious cry was met by three enthusiastic ‘Hell yeah!’s and one “Um, how exactly am I supposed to help with that?”

“She let you into her group!” Ran replied. “She hasn’t done that in forever. I mean, why did she do that?”  
  
“Um… I kinda accidentally walked in on her making out with her girlfriend on my first day?”  
  
“Her girlfriend? You mean the Minato witch?” Ran asked. Tsugumi nodded. “Jeez. How the hell did she not kill you for that?”  
  
Tsugumi was about to explain Lisa’s unexpected sympathy for her, but then she remembered that sympathy came from knowing Tsugumi was hanging out with Afterglow. Perhaps telling them that wouldn’t be a good idea.  
  
Instead she shrugged. “I think she might soon?”  
  
“Right… Ran sighed. “Okay, listen up, Tsugumi. If she’s back with Minato, we can… we can use that. Lisa’s always hung around with like five girls at a time, but no one has the courage to say anything. And then what else? I mean, that Touko girl is way more popular on social media than her, that’s gotta be useful too…”  
  
The group threw ideas around until Tsugumi was quite dazed. With each new idea of how to ruin Lisa’s life, the group got more and more riled up, and Tsugumi couldn’t deny their energy was infectious. Lisa… wasn’t a good person, right?. She’d been mean at lunch, making fun of Aya and sort of ignoring Tsugumi, and if there was one thing she’d learnt from movies, it was that the popular girls were never nice. But she’d never seen them be toppled before.  
  
“Come on guys. It’s her LAST YEAR! We HAVE to DO THIS!” Ran almost screamed, after Moca’s suggestion of breaking into her house and giving her a buzz cut as she slept. Tsugumi wasn’t too sure about that, but they could talk about it later.

“FUCK YEAH! TSUGU’S GONNA BRING DOWN LISA IMAI!” Tomoe yelled, before quickly turning to Tsugumi. “I mean, if you want to, of course!”  
  
Tsugumi hadn’t realised she could decline all of this, but as she looked around at Afterglow’s expectant faces, and felt the first flames stroking her heart, she found she wouldn’t dream of it. At least in that moment.  
  
“I’ll do it.”

The middle of the week was spent with The Girls (they had quickly become capitalised in Tsugumi’s mind). Tsugumi began to notice more and more things; Lisa’s continued complaints of how unromantic Yukina was (she was always meant to comfort Lisa and tell her she was a first rate queen during these parts), her continued dismissal of Aya, and, Ran had been right, she did seen rather obsessed with Touko’s follower count. But also Touko in general. Because no matter how much she dunked on the other girl, and told her her slang was awful, she almost always ended up sneaking off with her by the end of lunch, leaving Tsugumi alone with Aya. But that was quite pleasant, actually; Aya was sweet to her, and she had plenty of stylish advice. Tsugumi also discovered that it was Aya’s band Sayo’s sister Hina had quit student council for, from how much Aya talked about her.

She still wasn’t sure how to bring down Lisa, but Afterglow assured her they’d have instructions for her soon enough. For now, she simply spent excessive time with her, complimented her as much as possible, and listened as Lisa complained about everyone at the school being pure scum. Or something similar.  
  
But of course, the days she liked best were the quiet afternoons spent in the student council. The sun set behind herself and Yukina like a scene straight out of a shoujo manga as they finished the work of the day. The other two members, Arisa and Rinko, didn’t really show up often, but Sayo was in there almost as much as her and Yukina. It should have been an annoyance to Tsugumi, but Sayo was friendly, once you got past her tough exterior, and she was always kind to Tsugumi.  
  
The three of them finished their days together in relative silence, but it was never uncomfortable or awkward. After Tsugumi’s eventful days delicately navigating her social life and studies, it was pleasant to simply rest and sneak glances at Sayo and Yukina as she signed whatever forms the clubs were demanding them to do that day. Since they were both her seniors, Tsugumi really should have been intimidated by Yukina and Sayo, but she couldn’t bring herself to be. They were rapidly rising to the top of her list of favourite people at the school.  
  
That was why it was a shame they had so many bigger things to worry about than her. Once the day’s work was done, they shut off the light, and Yukina went to go and make out with Lisa again, and Sayo went to prepare for university and other important things, even though it was still only May. And, Tsugumi found out a short while into her time at the student council, Yukina and Sayo were forming a band together. Apparently Sayo was an excellent guitarist too, and her and Yukina’s sound matched perfectly.  
  
Tsugumi smiled and congratulated them, of course, but inside she was thinking wistfully of worn piano keys and glittery dreams that would never come true.  
  
But she could push all that pain away. Even just for the precious hours spent with Yukina and Sayo, for Sayo’s blunt yet welcoming encouragement towards her, for Yukina’s soft eyes as she bid Tsugumi goodnight.

Tsugumi might be a fool possibly locked in a civil war between two groups of people she didn’t even know that well, but she was also a fool in love. And she was growing accustomed to it.

* * *

A few nights later, Tsugumi was invited to Lisa’s house for the first time ever. 

It was in one of the nicer districts of town, a fair walk away from Hazawa Coffee. And it had a balcony. A matching balcony, even, with the house opposite. And inside, all the furniture was shiny and modern, straight out of a glossy magazine shoot. Lisa’s room was no different. It had more pink and red than Tsugumi was expecting, but everything in it was seemingly brand new and purchased from only the most refined stores. At least, that was Tsugumi’s impression.  
  
Lisa didn’t seem to be enjoying her room as much as Tsugumi was, however, if the groan she gave out as she sunk onto her bed was any indication.

“Babes, are you okay?” Touko asked worriedly.  
  
“I’m fine,” Lisa replied with a wave of her hand, but then two seconds she sat up sharply. “But I am so sick of Yukina.”  
  
“W-What did she do this time?” Aya said.

“Nothing! That’s the point!” Lisa sighed. “I have to tell her to do, like anything. I shouldn’t have to ask my own girlfriend to kiss me! And when she does she just seems so bored. We’re supposed to be childhood besties, but I’m just tired of her. She’s really important to me, but clearly she doesn’t care back!”

“Come on,” Touko said, climbing onto the bed and shifting quite close to Lisa. “It’s not your fault. If she’s being like that, maybe you should drop her, you know?”  
  
Touko seemed very interested in the prospect of Lisa ‘dropping’ Yukina, if her hand on Lisa’s lower back was anything to go by.

“Maybe…” Lisa huffed. “But I mean, if she doesn’t care anymore, that means I can have some fun, right?”  
  
Touko’s eyes lit up. “Of course ya can!”

“Yeah… maybe I will sometime.” Lisa looked at them all in turn, smiling. “Ladies - whenever your girlfriends - or boyfriends, whatever - start disappointing you, don’t pine like an idiot. Just disappoint them back.” Tsugumi didn’t think this was very good advice, but Lisa was much more versed in romance than she was. Well. Real romance, anyway. Lisa’s smile faded as she continued: “That’s what I did with all my exes, but I mean… Yukina is kinda special to me.”

 _Okay, listen up, Tsugumi. If she’s back with Minato, we can… we can use that. Lisa’s always hung around with like five girls at a time, but no one has the courage to say anything._  
  
Ran’s voice bursted into her head unprompted as a selfish and yet so tempting thought entered her head. Nothing would come of it, surely, this was just one thing she was going to say to Lisa, and she was supposed to be bringing her down anyway, right? So it was fine to give her a nudge, right?

So Tsugumi opened her mouth. “Even if she’s special, if she’s being mean to you, you should look out for yourself! H-Have some ‘fun’!”  
  
Wait- hold on. What was she doing? If Lisa did cheat on Yukina, wouldn’t that just hurt Yukina? Tsugumi didn’t want that. No doubt Ran and the others would be pleased with her for encouraging Lisa along the path to the point where they could expose her for being a cheater, or worse, but Tsugumi cared about Yukina.

But didn’t Ran say Lisa had already hung around with others plenty of times before? It was really Tsugumi’s fault if she encouraged her now, especially from a place of being a loving friend. 

Lisa seemed to agree, looking at Tsugumi with a new shine in her eyes. “You’re right, you know! We girls have to put ourselves first. And besides, it doesn’t really matter if I just kiss someone. Kissing is just kissing.”  
  
This went against every one of Tsugumi’s core beliefs about romance. Kissing was one of the most special, most tender things in the world! Every kiss was perfect, and beautiful, especially if you were in love with that person. Kisses shouldn’t be wasted.  
  
But she was wise enough to not tell Lisa that, so instead she smiled “Yeah! Kissing is just… kissing!”  
  
Lisa smiled back. “I like you, Tsugumi. You always know what to say. Is it like a homeschooled kids thing?” Before Tsugumi could reply, Lisa continued. “Whatever. I’ll think about it, give Yukina some time. I don’t wanna, like, immediately go behind her back.”  
  
“Haven’t you already be-”  
  
“Shut up, Aya!”

* * *

In the days that followed, Lisa and Touko spent an increasing amount of time together. When Tsugumi passed them in the halls, their arms would be linked and they hardly acknowledged her presence. At lunch, sometimes they barely bothered to show up to their table, leaving Tsugumi and Aya alone the whole period. And after school, they would spend the whole time giggling and making googly eyes at each other, making Tsugumi feel once again as if she was witnessing something that was surely best left private.

However, Aya seemed to be totally unsurprised at their new behaviour. It got to the point where Tsugumi had to ask her about it, the question bursting out of her mouth one day, at another Lisa and Touko-less lunch table, before she could even register it.  
  
“What is going on with them?” she said, gesturing at the empty seats.  
  
Aya seemed a little caught off guard by her sudden question, because she was tilting her head curiously. “What do you mean? I haven’t noticed anything weird, I think…”  
  
“They’re acting like a couple, Aya-senpai! I don’t get it! Does Yukina-senpai just not exist anymore, or-”

“Ohhhh. That.” Aya nodded. “Sorry, I forgot you haven’t seen this before.”

“Before?” Tsugumi spluttered. “This- Lisa-senpai and Touko- this isn’t new?”

“Touko’s like, her rebound!” Aya explained, as she lifted a piece of meat into her mouth. “They’ve done this countless times before. There’s some other girls involved too, you know that prince that struts around calling everyone her kitten? Lisa’s made out with her a couple times when she’s desperate.” Aya swallowed, before pouting. “Which is unfair, because I want to make out with her, but whatever!”

“So… she’s still with Yukina-senpai?” Tsugumi asked, feeling her head begin to spin a little.

“Yep. They’ve been dating since the start of high school. But things are complicated between them, I’m a little too scared to ask for the details.” Aya conspiratorially leaned forward. “But if you ask me, if they weren’t neighbours, their friendship would be dead and buried. And Lisa’s just desperately trying to keep things going between them, even though there’s no spark between them at all. Lisa just thinks- that- that- well, she’s a good kisser, right? And Yukina wants to be kissed. So if Lisa keeps kissing Yukina, Yukina will still want to spend time with her. Underneath her… everything, I think Lisa just can’t bear to lose her closest and oldest friend. Even though Yukina’s way past her as a person.”  
  
Aya paused for a moment to think. “Oh, and Lisa also wants to stay with her since because she’s a singer, Yukina apparently has a really good to-”  
  
“I _SEE!”_ Tsugumi said quickly, to shut Aya up, having a feeling of how that sentence would be finished. She hadn’t realised there was so much depth to the story. She almost felt a little-  
  
“Don’t feel sorry for her,” Aya said with a sad smile. “I fell into that trap. She’s still - well, quite horrible!”

“Then why do you still spend so much time with her?” Tsugumi asked.  
  
“I’m just hanging by her until I make it big as an idol. Until that happens, if I don’t have Lisa, I’m nothing.” Aya shrugged. “I’m just as bad as her, right?”  
  
“Well, I think being an idol is still very impressive!” Tsugumi said, even though Aya was kind of right. Then her brain finally caught up with a certain detail from Aya’s long word dump. “Wait, did you say they were _neighbours?”_  
  
Aya nodded. “Yukina has a matching balcony with her. It’s _so_ cool.”

So that meant, that over at Lisa’s house, when Tsugumi had essentially been encouraging Lisa to cheat on Yukina, Yukina had been barely a few metres away, perhaps studying in her room, or somehow overhearing the whole conversation, and now she was desperately trying to hide the fact she hated Tsugumi-

Unaware of Tsugumi’s internal plight, Aya continued in the same scandalous tone. “But my god, the upset it would cause if it came out Lisa was a cheater! I mean, everyone already knows, but if it’s confirmed, they can all dive onto her like hawks on social media.”

“People would do that?” Tsugumi asked.  
  
“Of course!” Aya replied. “Lisa’s probably somewhat ruined the lives of everyone at the school. But they still let her walk all over her, cause they’re too scared to say anything. But behind a screen? That fear is _gone.”_

Tsugumi pondered it. “So… if someone were to post a picture of Lisa kissing someone other than Yukina, on Instagram or Twitter or wherever, knowing the whole school would see it, it would destroy her reputation?”

Aya’s brows furrowed as she finished the last of lunch. “It wouldn’t totally get rid of her. Something major would have to go down for that to happen. But it’d be a nasty blow. Crazy to think about, right?”

“Yeah,” Tsugumi agreed, “absolutely crazy.”

* * *

Tsugumi figured that if Lisa and Touko were making out at school, which they almost certainly were, it would most likely be in the student council room. Lisa and Yukina had gone there that first Monday because there were no activities on the first day of school, but otherwise there was only one lunchtime in the week student council wasn’t held.

So on the Wednesday after her conversation with Aya, Tsugumi made her way there a strategic five minutes after classes ended, phone held in her hand. She had already told Afterglow of her plans, and they wholeheartedly approved. In fact, Moca had even offered to post it for her on one of the computers at her local library, to completely prevent the picture being traced back to Tsugumi. Tsugumi was already planning on simply using an anonymous account and tagging as many people as she could in it, but given how nervous she was, she quickly accepted the extra protection.

She was anxious about many things. First of all, she was terrified Lisa would see her and then proceed to murder her for real this time. Second, she was worried that maybe Aya was wrong, and that no one would actually care. If it was already known Lisa cheated on Yukina all the time, maybe everyone would simply walk on by. But most of all, she feared that perhaps deep down, Yukina cared for Lisa deeply, loved her, and was largely unaware of all of Lisa’s deeds. In a way, if that were the case, Yukina deserved the truth - but Tsugumi didn’t want to be the one to break it to her. And not in such a… petty way. She wasn’t doing this to stop Yukina from being in a toxic relationship, was she? She was simply trying to desperately stay in with people who probably weren’t even her real friends. She wanted to be Afterglow’s friend, but whether or not they shared that sentiment was still up for debate.  
  
And there was a darker yet part of herself that still wished that if her actions caused Yukina and Lisa to break up, maybe Yukina would stop looking at Lisa and finally turn her attention to her.  
  
Every ugly feeling made Tsugumi want to quit, run away, and even go back to being homeschooled. But she couldn’t. She was in too deep now. It was just one picture, anyway. She could do it. It would be worth it. It had to be worth it.  
  
Soon enough, Tsugumi found herself peering around the student council door. She could definitely see the shadows of movement - but it might just be Sayo finishing up some loose tasks, being the perfectionist she was. She had to get a little closer to see properly - and then she gasped.

Because there was no denying it. There was Lisa Imai, wrapped around Touko in a way that suggested if she kept moving closer to the other girl, and tangling their tongues together (or however making out worked, Tsugumi didn’t particularly know), all her problems in life would be solved. Touko looked much the same, her normally sharp eyes shut as she practically melted into Lisa.  
  
Little did Lisa know her problems were about to be caused by her current actions. Tsugumi allowed herself one more second of ogling, before checking the hallway was totally clear, and raising her phone. It felt like an excruciating eternity as she waited for the camera to focus - she needed a new model - but finally it loaded. And then Tsugumi took a deep breath, made sure the events happening were perfectly clear in the photo no matter how you looked at it, and then pressed the vital button.  
  
In all honesty, she had expected the earth to shake the minute she took it, for Lisa to fly out of the room with some large weapon already poised, and for a wave of students to suddenly come running down the hall. But none of that happened. All Tsugumi felt was the shake of her legs as she took a few, tentative steps backwards, until she was far away enough to break into a sprint.  
  
She ran and ran and ran until her lungs were going to burst. She didn’t know where she was headed, but she found her body did, as she was rushing up every staircase she saw. Before long, she had reached a very familiar set of double doors. She pushed them open with all the strength in her little body, and then half-exhaled, half-screamed as she entered the roof.  
  
Afterglow leapt up in what was maybe concern as she doubled over, her chest heaving.  
  
“TSUGUUU! Holy shit are you okay?” Himari yelled.  
  
“You look like you’re gonna have a heart attack!” Tomoe helpfully added.  
  
Tsugumi could barely register their words, only able to lift a shaky hand to reveal her phone screen, still open on the camera app.

“Here,” was all she was able to wheeze out, before her knees buckled and her face hit warm concrete.  
  
Later that night, as she laid in bed with an ice pack that had been placed over her nose by her ever worried parents, Tsugumi felt the vibration of her phone buzzing next to her. She reached out for it far too quickly to be dignified, even as her stomach turned inside out.  
  
Because there was only one text it could be.  
  
 _Moca: it’s done~_

_Moca: lisa-sama’s got a biiiiiiig storm coming_

Tsugumi threw her phone back on the pillow, stared at her ceiling, and wondered what on Earth would happen.

**Author's Note:**

> I wanted to have this all done for today, but I did not realise how long it was going to be when I started writing. Let's hope I finish sometime soon!


End file.
